Lauryl Lefebvre, a professor in West Virginia University’s College of Human Resources and Education recently won a $3,000 WVU Libraries Information Literacy Enhancement Award to assist in curriculum development.
Lefebvre who teaches Higher Education Administration, a course that focuses on educational leadership strategies, will expand the course with information literacy components such as webinars, collaboration with university librarians, and technology.
She is the first recipient from HR&E since the program’s inception in 2009. The award also dovetails with the goals of WVU’s 2020 Strategic Plan, which urges faculty to “engage undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in a challenging academic environment,” especially through immersing students in research.
“I am fortunate to have the chance to partner with WVU Libraries in meeting our institutional goals,” said Lefebvre, assistant professor in higher education administration in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction/Literacy Studies.
Higher Education Administration, or EDLS 650, is an introduction to the structures and operations of higher education and is usually taken by educational leadership studies master’s students in their first semester. Additions to the course include assessment with pre- and post-tests, scaffolding the course with milestones to build on research skills throughout the semester and web-conferencing to allow the library to have a live presence.
“The majority of [graduate student] applicants have not had formal training in accessing, evaluating, and using scholarly-based information,” said Lefebvre in her application. “There is an opportunity with first-semester graduate students to embed information literacy modules into the EDLS 650 class and achieve a consistent skill level across the cohort group for the remainder of their program of study.”
HRE library liaison Martha Yancey will also work closely with Lefebvre in collaboration on the program.
“I know that [Yancey] will be a dedicated and energetic partner for [Lefebvre] and they will make a strong team as they work together this year,” said Carroll Wilkinson, WVU Libraries Director of Instruction and Information Literacy.
The information literacy program is fulfilling a national movement to increase information literacy awareness and skills in all areas of higher education curriculum.
The objectives of the information literacy grants include strengthening student research results and preparing students for greater academic success; fostering collaboration between instructors and librarians; implementing syllabus enhancement to include information literacy learning outcomes and assignments; encouraging instructors to include library resources; and sponsoring an annual Information Literacy Showcase.
For more on the WVU Libraries Information Literacy Initiative, see: http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/faculty/initiative.html.
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CONTACT: Christie Zachary, Human Resources and Education
304-293-5703, christie.zachary@mail.wvu.edu
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